Borrowing from Peter Barclays to pay Paul UBS and Bank of America As the trial to determine Detroit’s eligibility for Chapter 9 bankruptcy begins today, Emergency Manager and bankruptcy specialist Kevyn Orr has found a way to ensure that banks are paid off before the tens of thousands of retired city employees with modest pensions earned through their years of […]

FONT SIZE???! [NOTE: This post has been updated HERE.] In a clear act of desperation, a group opposing the repeal of Public Act 4 — Michigan’s Emergency Manager law — are challenging the petitions because they say the font size is too small. [O]pponents of the referendum drive say they’ve found what they’re calling a “fatal error” on the petitions. […]

Yes, it’s still the law In what appears to be a never-ending saga of a ham-handed, clumsy implementation of a constitutionally-questionable law, the Snyder administration has finally won a court battle which put Flint Mayor Dayne Walling out of a job (again) and Emergency Manager Michael Brown back in (again). This and the continuing battles in Detroit and elsewhere to […]

Here are some photos, courtesy of Michigan Forward, from the delivery of over 226,000 petition signatures to the Secretary of States office on Wednesday. Some details along with a statement from Michigan Forward are available in yesterday’s News Round-up. Rally at Central United Methodist Church Another rally shot Brandon Jessup, Rev. David Bullock, Rev. Charles Williams and others delivering petitions […]

It just goes on and on and on and on Lots of news to cover today. Make sure you click through to the jump page if you’re reading this from the front page of Eclectablog. Stand Up For Democracy coalition delivers 226,637 petition signaturesYesterday, the Stand Up For Democracy coalition and Michigan Forward delivered well over the 160,304 signatures needed […]

Showtime! Click for a larger version This morning at 11:30 there will be a rally in Lansing, Michigan for those who support the repeal of Public Act 4, Michigan’s undemocratic Emergency Manager law. Then, at 1 p.m., close to 250,000 petition signatures will be delivered to the appropriate officials. 160,304 valid signatures are needed to put the citizens’ referendum on […]

The never-ending story… Muskegon Heights EM review team still hasn’t met – 3 weeks laterMLive reports that the financial review team for Muskegon Heights schools still hasn’t met three weeks after it was formed. The review team assigned to determine whether Muskegon Heights Public Schools needs an emergency manager has yet to meet three weeks after it was appointed. “We’re […]

I checked in with Brandon Jessup from Michigan Forward yesterday after the protest at the gates of Governor Rick Snyder’s gated neighborhood. Their initial plan was to turn in the signatures yesterday. They need just over 160,000 valid signatures. Jessup told me that they now have over 180,000 petition signatures and are preparing to deliver the petitions sometime in late […]

At a Detroit rally yesterday to protest the imposition of an Emergency Manager on the city, Brandon Jessup of Michigan Forward announced that Michigan Forward has gathered over 170,000 petition signatures for their effort to put the repeal of Public Act 4, the Emergency Manager law, on the November 2012 ballot. Only 161,305 are needed. Michigan Forward started the petition […]

In the increasingly likely event that Michigan Forward and Stand Up For Democracy secure enough petition signatures for the referendum to repeal Public Act 4, the law immediately goes on hold. This leaves the question “what now?” Will the previous law go back into effect or, because PA 4 replaced that law, will there simply be no law allowing for […]

The effort to repeal Public Act 4, the odious “Emergency Manager Law”, is in the final stages. They are now in a serious campaign to count the signatures they have get them verified. They need YOUR HELP with this effort. From LaToya A. Henry, the Secretary-Treasurer of Michigan Forward: We have begun doing Saturday data entry and verification for the […]